IRL eyes Daytona as test/race venue

UPDATE #2 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. Indy cars will return to Daytona International Speedway for the first time in 47 years during a compatibility test Sept. 26-27, Indy Racing League officials confirmed Tuesday. The test on a 10-turn, 2.73-mile road course that includes portions of the high-banked oval track will focus on the transitions to the banking, tire wear and braking zones. The Andretti Green, Penske, Panther and Ganassi teams will participate. Indy cars last raced at NASCAR's home in 1959 when George Amick was killed. There are no current plans to race there again; the league wants to use it as a winter testing facility. The IRL also will test Monday and Tuesday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Mid-Ohio is not expected to be on the league's 2007 schedule. Indy Star

08/28/06 If the Indy Racing League's compatibility test at Daytona International Speedway is successful, they will likely race there, according to the buzz in the garage area at Infineon Raceway this weekend.

One enthusiastic source close to the IRL schedule makers said an IndyCar Series race on a Daytona road course is the desired outcome of the test, which has yet to be officially scheduled but is expected to be in September.

"Assuming all sorts of things don't go wrong between now and then, it's a done deal," the source told The News-Journal.

However, Speedway and IRL officials aren't yet ready to anoint it "a done deal."

"I haven't heard anything about a race," Speedway spokesman David Talley said Sunday night. "We might want to wait until they test here before we jump at any conclusions they're coming here to race."

Talley did say if the testing was satisfactory, DIS would be open to discussing a race date with the IRL.

"We do own pavement and we want events with wheels and certainly the IRL does have that," he said. "But I haven't heard anything."

The IRL announced it wants to hold a compatibility test at the Speedway to see if the track would be a suitable winter testing facility. At this point, the compatibility test has not been scheduled, but the IRL-Daytona discussions immediately ignited speculation about an IndyCar Series race date.

There is precedent: Earlier this month the League staged a test at the new Iowa Speedway and then awarded the track a 2007 race date.

If the open-cockpit IndyCar Series racers have a successful test at Daytona, the IRL would return for a full-blown winter test in the days following the Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 At Daytona, insiders said.

Though next year's IRL schedule is not complete, a 2008 race date would be more realistic if the test was successful. Daytona Beach News-Journal

08/11/06 The IndyCar Series and Daytona International Speedway are in discussions regarding a compatibility test at Daytona International Speedway in September.

The potential visit would allow IndyCar Series officials to determine the possibility of Daytona International Speedway to serve as a preseason testing venue.

“We have talked to International Speedway Corp. about alternative warm weather venues for our pre-season testing and that led to discussions regarding a compatibility test at Daytona," said John Lewis, the Indy Racing league’s vice president of league development.

The potential compatibility test could allow series officials to see transitions onto the banking, tire wear/side loads and braking zones while looking for any challenging surface areas on the track.

“We’re happy to hold discussions with the Indy Racing League on the possibility of using Daytona as a testing venue in the future," said DIS President Robin Braig.